Mental health is positively associated with biodiversity in Canadian cities

2024/06/11 by Rachel T. Buxton, Emma J. Hudgins, Éric Lavigne +6 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Climate Change and Health Impacts #Urban Agriculture and Sustainability #Urban Green Space and Health

paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s43247-024-01482-9

openalex publication_date 2024/06/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Cities concentrate problems that affect human well-being and biodiversity. Exploring the link between mental health and biodiversity can inform more holistic public health and urban planning. Here we examined associations between bird and tree species diversity estimates from eBird community science datasets and national forest inventories with self-rated mental health metrics from the Canadian Community Health Survey. We linked data across 36 Canadian Metropolitan Areas from 2007-2022 at a postal code level. After controlling for covariates, we found that bird and tree species diversity were significantly positively related to good self-reported mental health. Living in a postal code with bird diversity one standard deviation higher than the mean increased reporting of good mental health by 6.64%. Postal codes with tree species richness one standard deviation more than the mean increased reporting of good mental health by 5.36%. Our results suggest that supporting healthy urban ecosystems may also benefit human well-being.

Citations

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Discussions

• Of course! Mental health is positively associated with biodiversity in Canadian cities. Buxton, R.T., Hudgins, E.J., Lavigne, E. et al. in Commun Earth Environ 5, 310 (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s432... O [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]